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Sunday, August 26, 2018

Breaking news!

I was going to post another look at something i learned in Austin, but instead, I have some very exciting, breaking news to report - It's not hot anymore!

(oh.. "not hot" in this context means it's not 100+ deg F anymore. It was still 93 deg F yesterday. So, i have to keep remembering that it's still too hot to plant anything, but not too hot to weed anymore)

I don't think i've ever been this excited about getting to do weeding before! So instead of showing more Austin pictures, I'm following Gerhard's lead with Weekend Wrap Up, and showing some pictures of my garden that caught my eye this weekend.

tunas are starting to ripen!
I think that opuntia is the one that Danger Garden sent me a very long time ago... It likes the hill side.

This next one is a different type (Burbank Spineless, I think) - it has fewer but larger tunas that are more orange-y:
The tunas are definitely not spineless...
 Here with my hand for scale - these things are big!
and from what i remember, they don't have very many seeds
This next picture is several projects-in-work that i'm excited about:
mostly water plants
And i found another hesperaloe funifera, which will get planted as soon as it's not actually hot anymore...

Up on the hillside, the new gravel path is working out nicely:
even as the plants continue to grow over it
The plants are also recovering from their spring cutback to cover the wooden steps up the hillside - I really like the way the overgrown look works here:
and such as change from the way the hillside used to be!
This plant is calliandra californica - which i've tried to plant at least 10 times, only to have it die. Except for this seeding, which I didn't plant:
i'm hoping it will eventually grow into a bush?
Meanwhile, one of this summer's experiments is working fairly well - these succulent pots. And it seems to be a little bit of a color echo with the pot, plant and wall!
almost like i learned something in Austin...
The "yellow gold" Lantana came back! It took until mid July before it re
that makes it the second lantana ever to return in my garden
Agave 'Snow Glow' is continuing to grow, and trying it's best to catch the light and glow:
A for effort, i think
 While nearby, 'Blue Glow' sits showing off how it's done:
still my favorite - maybe i need another one?
 And last is Mangave 'Tooth Fairy' - still living next to Agave 'Crazy Horse'. It's wet here because there were sprinklers that needed fixing...
still one of my favorites - but no offsets yet?
Looking at the forecast, we should be set for low 90's most of the week. I know that we can get more hot weather (must. not. plant. plants. yet.) but I'll take this if we can get it. Maybe i'll have all those weeds pulled before new plants start showing up!

11 comments:

  1. The light at the end of summer's tunnel just switched on. Hooray! Gardening weather ahead. :)

    That 'Tooth Fairy' Mangave is a beauty.

    I have a Calliandra eriophylla, it was very very slow but it finally got going, so maybe they just need time? Mine appreciates some water now and then.

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    1. I can give my calliandra some time - especially now that i know what it is, and won't "weed it out". And i'm really hoping we're at the end of the tunnel with the weather, fingers crossed!

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  2. I'm so happy that you're be able to play outside again! So many exciting things happening in your garden. The cactus and agaves look very happy in your climate!

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    1. i wish the gardener was as happy with the weather as the agave and cacti! Although sometimes i do remember to pinch myself that i can grow most of these amazing plants with very little effort on my part. Now, hostas are a different story...

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  3. Great progress on all counts! I love your 'Tooth Fairy', as well as 'Snow Glow', which I've yet to find for a price that doesn't make me shudder.

    I'm glad to hear you've had better weather too! A friend in the San Fernando Valley made similar remarks about her relief in finally having temperatures in the lower 90s. We were in the upper 70s-low 80s here, which was also a shocker and I'm afraid I bent my rule about not planting anything but succulents just a little bit...

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    1. my 'snow glow' was tiny, and from Plant Delights, in case you're still looking, and don't need an immediate impact.

      It's funny how local weather is, isn't it? I've managed not to plant anything new, but i'm bending my rule about buying also... because of course plants would rather sit in the pot holding area, right? wait... Thanks for visiting!

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  4. We didn’t even make it to 70 today! Quite the shock when we just broke the all time record for # of days in the 90’s. I’m starting to think about planting a few things I’ve been holding on too. And wow, I forgot all about sending you that Opuntia pad...I’m glad it’s so happy in your garden.

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  5. So glad you're getting some reasonable temperatures now. Your garden looks good. Our weather was quite cool today, and breezy, which means the wildfire smoke has blown away again. I hope it won't be back. I feel the urge to start planting again, but our rain won't be back for at least another month, so I really need to hang on with that. I have an enormous pot ghetto that I've been watering all summer. I can make a bit of a start on pulling out some dead plants though, in the areas that I'm going to redo.

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  6. This is the most pleasant August I can remember since I moved to Napa 30+ years ago. I could get used to it ! I'm glad you joined up with Gerhard--he may find himself in meme-land !

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  7. August was an amazingly benign month, weather-wise. And September hasn't been too bad so far either, knock wood...happy planting!

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